Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Compelling Case for Common Core

33% of high school seniors say they don't write about what they read in class37% of 8th grade students say their math is too easy

So the answer is no - we don't challenge our students in today's schools.

It is amazing to me that those who continuously chastise the defenders of the status quo are now the defenders of status quo in standards. Those who constantly berate educators for focusing on the adults and not the students - are now more worried about the adults than the students!!

The big shifts in the Common Core are evidenced based writing and reading complex texts - an absolute necessity for success in any job. The big shifts in math will challenge students in the major topics to go deep into understanding.

We need this people - we have to make the shift and challenge our students so that they can meet the challenges of the global economy.

THE BIG SHIFTS REVIEWED:ELA

Building knowledge through content-rich
nonfiction

Reading, writing and speaking grounded in
evidence from text, both literary and informational

Regular practice with complex text and its
academic language

MATH

Focus strongly where the Standards focus

Coherence: Think across grades, and link to major
topics within grades

Rigor: In major topics, pursue conceptual
understanding, procedural skill and fluency, and
application